How Dental Tourism Contributes to Albania's Current Account Balance Quantifying Hard Currency Inflows from Italian, British, and Greek Patients — Framing Dentistry as an Export Industry

Abstract

Albania's current account deficit has undergone one of the most rapid improvements in the
Western Balkans over the 2019–2024 period, narrowing from a deficit of approximately 7.3% of GDP to
an estimated 2.4% — a transformation driven overwhelmingly by the export of tourism services [1] [2].
Within this broader shift, dental tourism has emerged as a structurally significant sub-sector: by 2024,
Albania hosted over 80,000 international dental patients annually, generating an estimated EUR 112–148
million in total economic activity and contributing approximately EUR 60–80 million in direct hard
currency inflows to the services account of the balance of payments [3] [4].
This article argues that dental tourism constitutes a genuine export industry under the General Agreement
on Trade in Services (GATS) Mode 2 framework, and that its foreign exchange contribution is both
measurable and macroeconomically material. Drawing on balance of payments data from the Bank of
Albania, WTTC tourism impact reports, clinical spending surveys, and the international dental tourism
literature, the paper constructs a foreign exchange estimation model across three source markets — Italy,
the United Kingdom, and Greece — and applies conservative, central, and optimistic projection scenarios
through to 2028 [5] [6] [7].
The article further examines the structural conditions that underpin the FX inflow — including the
Balassa-Samuelson wage differential, diaspora patient networks, and exchange rate dynamics — and
explores the policy implications for Albania's macroeconomic management. Results suggest that dental
tourism already accounts for approximately 2.5–3.0% of total services exports, a share likely to double by
2028 under realistic growth assumptions.